3 detained in police raids in Brussels

Brussels - Bomb disposal experts were also on site, reports said.

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By AFP/AP

Published: Fri 25 Mar 2016, 4:22 PM

Last updated: Fri 25 Mar 2016, 10:30 PM

Belgian prosecutors say three people have been detained in counter terrorism raids in Brussels prompted by the arrest of a Frenchman in the Paris area suspected of plotting a new attack.
The federal prosecutor's office says the three were arrested Friday in three different districts of the Belgian capital - Schaerbeek, Forest and Saint-Gilles.
These arrests are believed linked to the arrest of Reda Kriket in France on Thursday. Kriket was convicted in absentia of terrorist activities last year along with the suspected ringleader of the deadly Nov. 13 attacks on Paris.
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Belgian police carrying out a fresh anti-terrorist operation on Friday arrested a suspect, who suffered a slight injury, Schaerbeek Mayor Bernard Clerfayt told AFP.
"I can confirm a police operation targeting a person who was intercepted by police and suffered a slight leg injury," he said.
He added there had been several small explosions linked to bomb disposal work.
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Third blast hear during the raid
A new blast has been heard from a police operation in a Brussels neighborhood that once housed a hideout for the suicide bombers who targeted the city's airport and subway system this week.
Associated Press reporters at the scene described hearing a new detonation, though it was unclear whether it was a controlled police detonation or something else.
Earlier, a witness speaking on Belgian state broadcaster RTBF described hearing two blasts and shots from heavy weapons during the police raid on the Schaerbeek neighborhood.
About 50 officers appear to be involved in the operation. It is unclear whether it is linked to Tuesday's attacks. A tram passing through the area was stopped and evacuated and police cordoned off a wide perimeter of streets.
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Belgian state media is reporting that two explosions have been heard and one person has been detained in police raids in the Brussels neighborhood of Schaerbeek.
It is not clear whether the raids are linked to the investigation into deadly attacks Tuesday on Brussels' airport and subway system. At least one suspect in those attacks is at large, and it is unclear whether there were other accomplices.
State broadcaster RTBF says multiple police operations are underway in Schaerbeek, and one person has been detained. It says one explosion was heard at the start of the operation and cited witnesses describing gunfire.
Police earlier this week found a large stash of explosives in an apartment in Schaerbeek believed to have been used by suicide bombers in Tuesday's attacks.
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Armed police launched a major new raid in Brussels in the wake of the suicide attacks, in the Schaerbeek area of the capital, Belgian media reported Friday, a day after six suspects were arrested over the carnage.
An explosion was heard at the start of the operation, Belga news agency reported, while the RTBF broadcaster said a man had been "neutralised", but there was no immediate confirmation by officials.
Bomb disposal experts were also on site, reports said.
Police had sealed off the area, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
The site of the raid is in the same district from where three airport attackers left on Tuesday morning carrying suitcase bombs, although only two went off.
During a series of raids in Schaerbeek on Tuesday night police found 15 kilos of high explosive, bomb-making chemicals and an Islamic State group flag.

AFP/AP

Published: Fri 25 Mar 2016, 4:22 PM

Last updated: Fri 25 Mar 2016, 10:30 PM

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